The invention relates to a carriage body for a railroad vehicle. The carriage body is preferably constructed in an integral manner, i.e., at least a base plate, lateral walls, a roof element, and end walls are joined together, and is constructed in particular of aluminum extrusion press elements welded to one another, which are configured in a standard manner as double-walled hollow chamber profiles, in particular profiles with opposing sheet metal walls connected to one another with bridges. The bridges or partitions delimit air chambers running in the longitudinal direction of the profile. However, not all of the aforesaid parts of the carriage body have to be produced from extrusion press structures. Instead it is also possible for only certain areas of the carriage body to be produced from extrusion press profiles. In trains that have several carriages, the carriages are hooked up to one another by couplings, in particular so-called central buffer couplings. The couplings transfer the traction and thrust forces in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body and thus in the direction of travel of the train. Underneath the base of the carriage body, the carriage body of the invention has a coupling fixing device (e.g., a coupling plate) for fixing a coupling by which the carriage can be hooked up to other carriages of a train. The invention further relates to a method for producing such a carriage body and a railroad vehicle with such a carriage body.
The coupling plate has a side facing the end of the carriage body in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body or a space open toward this side, on which side or in which space the coupling is or can be fixed, for example by means of a flange on a surface of the coupling plate. In lieu of a coupling plate, provision can be made of another device on which the coupling is fixed or can be fixed and via which forces acting particularly in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body are transferred between the coupling and the device. For example, the device can have an arrangement of struts and a fixing element. The coupling is fastened onto the fixing element and the struts extend in different directions within a plane running perpendicular to the lengthwise axis of the carriage body. The struts hold the fixing element against a frame that forms the outer edge of the device. The device can be designated in a general manner as a coupling fixing device. The fixing element or other configuration of the fixing device can have, for example, a block of material with a hollow space open on one side in which the end of the coupling is or can be inserted. The block of material can have, for example, two parts which each border a portion of the hollow space. The parts can be fixed to one another such that the end of the coupling cannot be removed from the hollow space without first disengaging the mechanism fixing the parts.
The carriage body can in particular be a carriage body for a trolley, a local train, an intercity train, or a high velocity train.
EP 2130739 A1 discloses a carriage body for a railroad vehicle that has two end modules. The coupling by which the carriage body can be hooked up to adjacent carriage bodies has an inside end that is connected directly to a transverse element of a substructure or to a cross tie for transferring longitudinal forces. The substructure has a pair of longitudinal supports that extend out from the transverse element in the longitudinal direction of the coupling. The longitudinal supports end at a frame that is connected to the underside of the carriage body. On its lower face, the end module also has a frame having, on its end side facing the adjacent carriage, a window through which the coupling extends to the fixation zone on the end of the frame. The frame has a set of longitudinal supports and additional elements running lengthwise. In the fixation zone of the coupling, the frame has a plate-shaped inner underbeam.
DE 10129420 A1 describes a head structure for the shells of railroad vehicles. The head structure has a base plate, a head panel (i.e., a coupling plate), a longitudinal brace extending in a longitudinal direction of the carriage body, as well as a plurality of local stiffening elements in the nature of transverse supports. The base plate is connected to the base plate of a carriage body by a main transverse support. In addition to the longitudinal brace provided in the area of the base plate, additional (e.g., diagonal) brace elements are possible, which can essentially support the actual head panel over its entire height.
For receiving forces (henceforth also known as coupling forces) transferred via the coupling to the carriage body or vice versa, so-called coupling boxes have also been proposed, which are fixed beneath the base of the carriage body. As with the frame according to EP 2130739 A1, the coupling extends through a front opening of the coupling box to the back end of the coupling box and is fixed on the back side of said coupling box, e.g., by means of a flange. The coupling box has lateral walls extending in the longitudinal direction and a base. The lateral walls as well as the front and rear walls of the coupling box can be connected on their upper face to a plate-shaped reinforcement of the carriage body base. Furthermore, the coupling forces introduced by the coupling into the back end of the coupling box via various brace elements, in particular at least one cross strut, a lengthwise strut, and optionally also diagonal struts, are transmitted to the base of the carriage body. Additional reinforcements may be needed on the places where the forces are introduced into the base of the carriage body, depending on the strength of the base.
As these examples show, the purpose of the coupling fixing device (e.g., the coupling plate) on which the coupling is or can be fixed is to receive the forces exerted on the carriage body by the coupling and, conversely, to exert forces from the carriage body on the coupling. The forces are transferred essentially in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body and thus the train, although transverse forces acting perpendicular to the longitudinal axis are also generated. In order that these forces may be transferred between the coupling fixing device and the carriage body, the coupling fixing device (e.g., coupling plate) is connected to the base of the carriage body via the aforementioned force transfer elements, specifically longitudinal braces, transverse supports, stiffening elements, and diagonal struts. These force transfer elements secure the coupling fixing device and distribute the forces introduced into the base of the carriage body by the coupling fixing device. The forces are then transferred from the base, in particular the base plate of an integrally constructed carriage body, to the longitudinal supports in the zone of the transition between the base and the lateral walls. In the case of a base plate, said base plate is typically connected to the longitudinal supports over the entire length of the carriage body. However, the longitudinal supports do not have to be configured as separate components. For example, they can be an integral part of the base instead.
In order to secure the coupling fixing device, in particular the coupling plate, in a stable manner and enable the transfer of forces between the carriage body and the coupling, it is known that a plurality of force transfer elements is required, wherein the latter must be configured with sufficient stability so as not to collapse nor undergo any substantial deformation under the greatest possible stress, not even in the event of lightweight construction as is the case with aluminum extrusion press profiles with air chambers. If the force transfer elements have a substantial weight, correspondingly greater amounts of material and room underneath the base of the carriage body are required. This room would then be unavailable for, say, a carriage bogie, electric cables and/or hydraulic or pneumatic lines. Since the coupling fixing device is arranged in the end region (when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the carriage body) of the carriage, the bogie must be a considerable distance away from the end of the carriage or of the carriage body.